Chaos and Salvation

Bibi Dong wasted no time. After summoning Yue Guan and Gui Mei, she took Xuan Hao and left Spirit City. She had no intention of calling on the Elder Hall.

Although she had held the position of Pope for nearly six years, most of those old fossils in the Elder Hall were still sitting on the fence.

Qian Daoliu, that old monster in the Worship Hall, might keep out of affairs, but the old men under him, led by Golden Crocodile Douluo, were always waiting for her to fail—and for a chance to take a share for themselves.

If word got out and Golden Crocodile Douluo, a level ninety-eight Peak Douluo, forced his way in under the pretext of "strengthening Spirit Hall's foundations," whether those two Soul Rings and Soul Bones ended up in her hands would be another matter entirely.

Only Yue Guan and Gui Mei could be trusted completely. After Qian Xunji's death, Qian Daoliu had pushed the two Titled Douluo aside, leaving them no choice but to cling to her.

Star Dou Great Forest.

Four figures streaked across the sky like meteors.

Guided by Yue Guan, they flew straight past the outer reaches, deep into the Mixed Zone, and finally landed beside a quiet pool.

"Your Excellency, this is the place."

Yue Guan pointed to the marks on the ground. They had been cleaned up, but traces remained. "The scent ends here."

Bibi Dong said nothing. Eerie green light surged around her, and six unnerving black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings slowly rose.

"Third Spirit Skill: Demon Spider Summon!"

In an instant, a sinister, terrifying aura spread outward from her.

The ground seemed to turn into a swamp of death, rippling with rings of dark green light.

"Hiss, hiss—"

A skin-crawling scraping sound arose as poisonous spiders, each half a meter across and dark green from end to end, crawled out of the earth.

They swarmed across the ground, covering everything within a hundred meters.

This was a domain-type Soul Skill of Bibi Dong's Soul Devouring Spider Emperor. Its attack power was unremarkable, but for scouting and searching, it was invaluable.

Formed from deathly energy, the demon spiders could track life auras and specific scents with an accuracy that rivaled radar.

"Go. Find them!"

At Bibi Dong's command, countless spiders scattered like a green tide. They slipped into bushes, climbed treetops, and even burrowed underground.

Before long, Bibi Dong's impassive expression changed. "Found them."

She snapped her gaze southwest. "They didn't go deeper into the Core Zone. They're heading for the outer reaches instead? Are they trying to hide in the last place we'd look?"

"Luck is on my side!"

Her eyes flashed. "Yue Guan, Gui Mei! Circle around from both sides and cut off their retreat to the Core Zone! Even if you alert those two Forest Kings, pin them down in the outer reaches!"

"As you command!"

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, then became streaks of gold and black light that vanished into the dense forest.

Bibi Dong was about to move when someone tugged at her sleeve.

She looked down at Xuan Hao, who had remained silent until now.

"Sister..."

Xuan Hao looked up at her. "Could you... let me go ahead first?"

"What are you planning?" Bibi Dong frowned.

"I want to... say a few things to her first." Xuan Hao bit his lip. "She saved my life. I want to try talking to her. If we can avoid a fight, could we..."

"Naive." Bibi Dong cut him off coldly. "Soul Beasts and Soul Masters are natural enemies. She's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, a treasure from head to toe. Do you think I'll let her go? Or that she'll surrender without a fight?"

"But..." Xuan Hao gripped her sleeve even tighter. "Just a few words! I'll come right back! Please, Sister!"

Looking at his face, so close to tears, Bibi Dong felt an inexplicable irritation. In the end, though, she could not bring herself to refuse.

The outcome was already settled. With three Titled Douluo closing the net, the two Shapeshifting Soul Beasts were trapped.

Even if Xuan Hao warned them and gave them a head start of a few hundred meters, what difference would it make?

Against overwhelming strength, that distance could be crossed in a blink.

Besides, with Yue Guan and Gui Mei's Martial Soul Fusion Skill at hand, she had no fear of them taking a hostage.

"Half the time it takes a stick of incense to burn," Bibi Dong said flatly. "That's all you get. Say your piece, then get back here and stay out of the way."

"Thank you, Sister!"

Xuan Hao let go and, without hesitation, sprinted toward the place Bibi Dong's demon spiders had detected.

Deep in the forest.

Holding Xiao Wu, Ah Rou crept toward the forest's edge, carefully using the terrain for cover.

The Core Zone might be safe, but if the Titled Douluo trapped them there, Da Ming and Er Ming would have to face several of them at once. It was too dangerous.

So she had decided to do the opposite of what her pursuers expected. While the humans assumed she would hide deeper in the forest, she would slip back through the Mixed Zone, escape the forest, and disappear into the human world.

Once they were lost among the crowds, their distinctive auras would be completely concealed.

Suddenly, the bushes ahead rustled.

Ah Rou's expression changed. She instantly took a defensive stance, Soul Power surging as she prepared to fight for their lives.

"Don't attack! It's me!"

A familiar young voice rang out.

Then the silver-haired boy she had rescued by the lake—the one who had left so resolutely—pushed through the bushes, panting.

"You?!"

Ah Rou stared at Xuan Hao in bewilderment. "Why did you come back? Weren't you..."

"You can't escape." Xuan Hao quickly explained as he looked at the wary mother and daughter.

"The Pope of Spirit Hall is ahead of you, and two Titled Douluo Elders have circled around to block your way back to the Core Zone. They also have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill called the Two Poles Stillness Domain. Once they use it, they can immobilize even a Soul Beast as powerful as a Titan Giant Ape, let alone you two."

"So taking me hostage won't work either."

Ah Rou went pale. "Then why are you here?"

"I can't save both of you," Xuan Hao said.

"But you saved me. Now I have a plan. If we do this right... at least one of you can survive."

Ah Rou's pupils contracted. "What do we do?"

Xuan Hao wasted no time explaining.

He took a sharp step back, and golden light erupted from him as he released his full power!

"Rooar!"

A resounding dragon cry rang out, and brilliant golden light lit up the dim forest. Two Soul Rings rose beneath Xuan Hao's feet. The second, a deep-purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, shone with piercing brilliance.

Xuan Hao drew a deep breath and unleashed the most provocative roar he could muster at the surrounding territory of Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts.

"ROOAR!"

A terrifying Sound Wave laced with challenging Dragon Might swept across several miles in an instant.

Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts were fiercely territorial, and this area was home to more than a few ill-tempered giants.

Provoked by an aura that seemed to know no fear, the already savage beasts erupted in fury.

"Rooar!"

"Awooo!"

In the next instant, roars sounded throughout the surrounding forest.

The ground began to tremble. More than a dozen powerful auras surged skyward. Once provoked, these Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts would fly into a brief frenzy even under the pressure of a Titled Douluo.

Chaos descended in an instant.

"You..."

Ah Rou looked at the forest stirring around them and immediately understood Xuan Hao's intention.

Create chaos, then slip away amid the confusion!

With her faint aura deliberately concealed, Xiao Wu was the only one who had any chance of escaping alive in this turmoil.

"Xiao Wu, listen to me."

Ah Rou spun around, tears in her eyes, and pushed the stunned Xiao Wu toward a dense thicket beside a hidden passage leading deeper into the forest. "Hold your breath. Use the method I taught you to suppress your aura completely, and hide in that hollow tree! No matter what happens out here, no matter what you hear, do not come out! And don't look back!"

"Mom! I won't—"

"Do as I say!"

Ah Rou shoved Xiao Wu, and a gentle surge of Soul Power carried her straight into a hidden tree hollow dozens of meters away. With a flick of Ah Rou's finger, thick slabs of bark and vines sealed the entrance.

Once that was done, the tenderness vanished from Ah Rou's eyes, replaced by grim resolve.

She turned sharply and unleashed all her Soul Power, deliberately driving the primal aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to its peak!

Then she seized Xuan Hao by the throat and held him in front of her.

"Forgive me!"

Dragging Xuan Hao with her, Ah Rou ran neither toward the Core Zone nor toward the forest's edge. Instead, she charged sideways at full speed, toward the densest cluster of awakened Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beasts—and slightly farther from Bibi Dong.

"Humans! You want my Soul Ring? Then come and take it!"

Ah Rou let out a shrill cry that carried through the entire forest.

Tucked beneath Ah Rou's arm, Xuan Hao felt the wind howl past and the heartbreaking resolve in her voice. His feelings churned.

He did not resist. He merely closed his eyes.

This was all he could do.

The rest...

That depended on which side damn fate chose.